Dr. Aloka Guha

Dr. Aloka Guha, former Founder-Chairperson of the National Trust, is a Special educator trained in Intellectual Disability. She has 45 years of experience in the Disability sector working with leading NGOs, and with the Government of India on legal and policy matters, including the development of GOI’s for the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Five Year Plans. She has worked with SEARO-WHO in the Disability Unit and in the Mental Health Unit, Department of NCD. She was a Consultant with ‘Autism Speaks’ which supported the Government of Bangladesh in the development of its national-level multi-sectorial initiative on Autism and NDDS. She is now a Consultant on Legal Mandates relating to disability, human rights, Situation Analyses, mentoring and monitoring of internationally-funded projects and training of teachers in Inclusive Education.

Prof. Richard Rose

Former Professor in Hong Kong, Prof. Richard is currently working closely with colleagues in two Swedish universities. He has served on UK government working parties in the area of inclusive education and has also conducted consultancy for several other national governments, including those in Sierra Leone, Ireland, and Malta. As the author of more than a hundred academic publications Prof. Richard has led major research and consultancy projects in Ireland, Estonia, China, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Armenia, and Georgia.

Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhyay

Former Chairperson, Rehabilitation Council of India, Head, Dept. of Inclusive Education, NUEPA & Director, SCERT Delhi, Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhyay is consulted by the Government of India, NGOs as well as international agencies such as BRAC Bangladesh, AUSAid, CRS, Plan India, REACH India, UNESCO, UNICEF, USAID and the World Bank etc. As a Professor with NUEPA she was involved in activities like planning and management of education at all levels with a special focus on education of persons with disabilities including Training, advocacy along with research and material development.

Prof. Jyanthi Narayan

Dr. Jyanthi Narayan is currently a visiting Professor at the University of Northampton (UoN), UK. She retired as the Deputy Director of the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH, currently, NIEPID). She completed her post-graduation specializing in Education (Learning disabilities and Mental retardation). She completed another post-graduation – M.A. in Distance Education and Ph.D. With Fulbright senior research fellowship, she carried out a Post-Doctoral programme at Boston College. Massachusetts, USA. In 2018, she is conferred upon with honorary doctorate by the UoN, UK.  As a consultant in special and inclusive education, Dr. Narayan has trained teachers in special and inclusive education and has also carried out situation analysis of education of children with disabilities, in various International locales, hired by UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and International agencies such as Perkins International and Helen Keller International.

Prof. Padma Sarangapani

Prof. Padma Sarangapani leads the Connected Learning Initiative which was recently awarded the UNESCO-King Hamad Award for the Use of ICTs in Education, and the development of a Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education.  Her research interests include quality of education, pedagogy, and teaching, and curriculum studies. She was involved with the National Curriculum Framework 2005 as a member of the steering group and has been involved in several policy initiatives of the Central Government. Her recent publication is School Education in India: Market, State, and Quality, published by Routledge, New Delhi in 2018.

Prof. Vibhuti Patel

Prof. Vibhuti Patel retired as Professor and Head of Economics Department of SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai on 30-6-2017. Her areas of specialisation have been Gender Economics, Women’s Studies, Human Rights, Social Movements and Gender Budgeting.  She has been a member of various Expert Committees for IGNOU, and NCERT (Delhi) during 2005-2012. She prepared a base paper on Gender for Mumbai Human Development Report, 2009, MMRDA Human Development Report (2017) and co-authored “Socioeconomics Status of Muslims in Maharashtra” for Maharashtra State Minority Commission, Government of Maharashtra, 2013.

Prof. Anita Julka

Prof. Anita Julka is involved in various research, training, development and extension activities. She has provided significant inputs from the perspective of children with disabilities for the National Curriculum Framework for the country and Position paper on the education of groups with special needs. She has organized training programmes for state-level key resource persons on Inclusive education and provided resource support to various organizations in governmental and non-governmental programmes for the education of children with SEN. She has conducted an Exploratory Study of Home-based Education Practices in SSA and has Developed Index for Inclusive Schools. She has many publications to her credit and is a member of many bodies at national level.

                                                   Dr. Bhushan Punani

Dr. Bhushan Punani joined Blind People’s Association during 1979 after completing his Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management (1977-79) from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Dr. Bhushan Punani is at present working as Executive Secretary of the Blind People’s Association, the largest NGO in the disability sector in India. He is also Advisor (CBR) to CBM, SARO (North) as well as Chairman: International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment ICEVI West Asia Region. Dr. Bhushan Punani has participated in many State, National and International level Conferences and has published many articles in the National as well as International journals and authored books on disability related subjects. For his distinctive achievements, Dr. Bhushan Punani has been conferred 14 Awards including Helen Keller Award during 1999, Lions Role of Honour during 2005, One of 100 Power – Eminent Persons of Gujarat during 2008 and Distinguished Alumnus Award of the India Institute of Management, Ahmedabad during 2011.

Dr. Varsha Gathoo

Dr. Varsha Gathoo is a professional working over two and a half decades in the field of Special & Inclusive education. She is a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow, LEND fellow of University of Connecticut USA and also a recipient of Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for pursuing Master’s Degree at the Washington University USA. She has received the vocational excellence award and also a national award for innovative practices of NCERT to her credit. She possesses a Ph.D. in Special Education and Disability Management. She has a Master’s Degree in Speech and Hearing from Washington University. Since 1997 Dr. Varsha Gathoo is the Head of the Department of Education at the National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped Mumbai She has been the founder Chairperson of the Adhoc-Board of Special Education and also been on various committees at the University of Mumbai and a member BOS of University of Pune & SNDT women’s University.  She has undertaken various long-term research projects. She has various National and International presentations to her credit & has also published articles and contributed as writer and editor for national & international journals. She has been awarded the Best Teacher Award amongst all the affiliated colleges of the University of Mumbai.

Dr. Shyamala Dalvi

Dr. Shyamala Dalvi is a psychologist and a special educator. She has been working in the field of education for the past 25 years. She holds a Masters in Psychology and Special education followed by a Doctorate in Inclusive Education. She began as a Lecturer at the SNDT women’s University, training pre-service teachers and conducting psychoeducational assessment for a period of eight years. She is a guest lecturer at the University and National Institutes. She has worked in schools for over ten years leading the process of including children with disabilities into the mainstream. She is presently an education consultant, an advisor and a master trainer for inclusive education at the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT). For the Maharashtra State Government, she is a part of the advisory committee and master trainer for school assessment and accreditation. She has completed a project with UNICEF to document the situation of CWSN in the State of Maharashtra.

Ms. Kanchan Pamnani

Ms. Kanchan Pamnani, Solicitor and Human Right Activist. She is practicing in the field of Corporate, Testamentary, Property and Disability law at Bombay High Court and Supreme Court of India. Currently, she is on the Boards of CREA an international feminist human rights organization and NCPEDP-National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People. Her work on the Bombay High Court’ Guidelines for Scribes in 2006 has culminated in Guidelines for the entire country. Ms. Kanchan has represented successfully many persons with disabilities who have aspired to pierce the glass ceilings of courses and subjects. She is the recipient in 2009 of the National Award as Role Model from the President of India, Zonta Club’s Woman of the Year and several other awards.

Ms. Deborah Gleason

Ms. Deborah Gleason has been affiliated with Perkins since 1980. She has three decades of experience of capacity building services for children who are deafblind or blind with multiple disabilities. She has served as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Education’s Early Childhood Advisory Council and as a board member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). She is a recipient of AER’s award for Outstanding Practice in Services to Children and their Families in 2004, and the association’s Award of Excellence in 1991.

Mr. Frank Scarcelli

Mr. Frank Scarcell has been in the education field for 39 years. He has been an educational administrator for 30 years. He was head of technology and teacher for 9 years before moving into administration. He was the founding principal of a flagship school which still to this day is considered outstanding in the province of Ontario. Currently, he is in his second year as, Head of School, at Dubai Scholars Private School, one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in Dubai.

Ms. Suzanne Rodricks

Ms. Suzanne Rordricks is an educationist with 30 years of experience in the field. She began her career with teaching children with disabilities. Over the years, she discovered that teaching, particularly curriculum design, implementation and educational audits were what drove her. She proceeded to work with aspiring teachers, schools and managements, to construct enriching learning environments, for all learners. Currently she is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, heading the process of change management in a British school in the UAE. The two key tools she is focusing on to facilitate the change are DATA Driven Curriculum Design and Pedagogical Learning Community.

Dr. Radhika Misquitta

Dr. Radhika Misquitta is a founding member of Gateway and joined the team in 2011. She has completed a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Special Education – Learning Disabilities from the University of Texas and prior to joining Gateway. She has worked in India and USA as a Teacher Coach and Special Educator for over 15 years. Dr. Radhika has been a consultant to institutions like iDiscoveri & NEGfire, New Delhi; Navnirmiti, Mumbai and P.E.E.R. International, South Africa. She also has several publications to her name; and has been awarded the Preemptive Recruitment Fellowship (2006-07) at the University of Texas, Austin, USA.

Ms. Sonali Saini

Founded in 2003 Sol’s Arc is an organization that works towards developing inclusive learning solutions to improve learning outcomes of children across India Ms. Sonali Saini is a special educator and has a Masters Degree in Special Education from Department of Special Education, SNDT women’s University. She has been working with children of diverse abilities and vulnerabilities since the last 15 years. She has served on Government, National, and International committees to represent and work for the inclusive education; Maharashtra state board for revision of special needs concessions across disabilities and for adaptation of Curriculum for special needs, Pratham for adaptation of the ASER test for the children with disabilities, Ekstep for curriculum micro-mapping of skills for the digital platform, Educate girls as a pedagogy consultant for development of remedial program for the World’s first Development Impact bond, UNICEF consultation for special needs children in Maharashtra, Teach For India as a pedagogy consultant for developing a remedial program for children with learning lags to name a few. She also serves on the board for ATMA , an organization that does capacity building for educational organizations.

Dr. Radhike Khanna

Dr. Radhike Khanna has been awarded by President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and President Shri Pranab Mukherjee for her contribution in the field of special education. She is a trainer in Auditory Integration Therapy and Sensory Scotopic Syndrome (Irlen Syndrome). For over 33 years, Dr. Radhike has been dedicated to making quality education accessible through various schools like S.P.J. Sadhana School and other institutes in and around Maharashtra. With the first five-year polytechnic course in the world that guarantees employment for the intellectually disabled, Dr. Radhike has also played a significant role in giving jobs to more than 5 Lakh of special individuals and their parents. As a social strategist and educator, she has devised various approaches that help parents to be an integral part of the education of their child.

Prof. Rubina Lal

Prof. Rubina Lal worked at the Post Graduate Department of Special Education, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, as Professor in Special Education before joining Suvidya Centre of Special Education as its Head. Suvidya is an affiliated college of the University of Mumbai and runs the B.Ed. Course with specialization in autism. Prof. Rubina Lal began her career as a teacher for children with autism and intellectual disability and worked in that capacity for over a decade. A recipient of the Fulbright Fellowship (2003-04) for Post- Doctoral Research in autism, and the Maharashtra State Best University Teacher’s Award (2011), she has published several scientific papers in Indian and international peer-reviewed journals. She is a founder trustee of the Society of Parents of Children with Autistic Disorders (SOPAN), Mumbai. In 2015, she was nominated by the Rehabilitation Council of India as the chairperson of the Curriculum Committee for developing disability courses for the 2-year B.Ed. Special Education (Autism Spectrum Disorders). In 2016, she was invited to Sweden as an expert to participate in a meeting for development of the WHO International Classification of Functioning (ICF) Criteria for autism.

Dr. Sushma Nagarkar

Dr. Sushama Nagarkar has her doctorate in Special Education from the University of Missouri and has national certification as a school psychologist in the US. In India, she is a registered Rehabilitation Psychologist (RCI) and currently works on a part-time basis with the Morris Foundation, Pune. In addition, she teaches graduate and undergraduate level courses on-line. Sushama has also worked with other educational entities in Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore. Sushama is a resource person for the Forum for Autism and travels to major metros to conduct workshops and trainings. She also consults with families who have a child with disabilities. In 2014, Sushama set up the Yash Charitable Trust, an NGO with the mission to provide an enhanced quality of life to adults with developmental disabilities who run Arpan café.